Clean and Safe
by princesserica84
Summary: Ron and Hermione take a shower together after the battle. Ron's POV. Contains: Protective Ron. Romione.


Here it is! My first fan fiction. I want to thank divagonzo for being an amazing alpha editor as well as headcanonsandmore for being my beta reader. I would not have been able to do this without them!

Please read and review (but be kind)

I own nothing! J.K. Rowling owns this world and its characters.

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It's done. Voldemort is dead. They are alive. Harry died but came back. Fred. Fred is dead.  
Ron still hadn't let this sink in, not yet. Between Hermione kissing him and barely avoiding being incinerated in the Room of Requirement, he hadn't absorbed the fact that his brother was dead.

Ron is sitting with Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. They are the only ones there, as most people are sleeping. They are holding hands but haven't said much yet. All of a sudden the fact that his brother is dead hit him. He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and starts sobbing into his hands.

'Oh Ron!' Hermione says as she wraps her arms around him, holding him close.

'He's fucking gone!' his head falls to her shoulder. She starts running her fingers through his hair to help calm him.

'How the bloody hell can he be there laughing at Percy's fucking joke one minute and then gone the next?' She continues to comfort him. His words grow incoherent through his crying.

After what felt like hours, he starts to gather himself together._ Fuck, what a ponce I am, bet she thinks I'm so weak, breaking down like this in front of her._ He looks up and sees nothing but love and comfort in her face.

'Hermione?' Ron asks while staring into her eyes. _God, I could get lost in her beautiful brown eyes,_ he thinks.

'Yes?'

He knows what he wants to say. He's thought about it everyday since he was 15. It's time, they just survived a bloody war!

'I love you' he pauses to take a breath 'Fuck, Mione I love with you so fucking much. Have for years, I reckon..." He looks away, towards the crackling fireplace. 'Never thought I was good enough for you," he mumbles, 'but I shoulda told you years ago.' He steals a glance at her and finds her eyes full of tears.

'I am so stupid! Oh Ron, I love you too. I thought you never fancied me.' she says while holding back a tear 'I wasted so much time worrying and over-thinking.' He looks at her.'I don't want to waste any more time.'

'Me neither' he says before crushing his lips against hers. He hears her squeal in surprise before she melts into his mouth. _God, how did I go so long without kissing her?_ He asks himself. He gently brushes his tongue against her upper lip. He feels her meet his tongue and then they just sink into the kiss. Her lips are chapped but he could care less because kissing her is pure bliss.

Ron forces himself to stop before getting carried away. It isn't the time for that yet. Not here at least. He pulled back from her welcoming body, trying to hide the excitement that started forming in his groin.

'You make me feel safe...always protecting me,' She said while starting to cry.

'Hermione… I… bloody hell, I love you so much' They were both sobbing now. Ron gently kisses her again. He pulls her into his lap and they sit there, crying and holding each other. Ron feels all his nerves melt away.

'Hermione?' he says once they have both calmed down.

'Yes Ron?' she says with a hiccup from the crying.

'I need to take a shower. Merlin! I'm covered in blood and dirt.'

'Oh,' she says with a small look of disappointment. 'Me too, yes, I feel disgusting.' Ron notices that her statement sounded forced, almost like she was hiding what she really wanted to say.

'Hermione? I know you better than this, what's wrong?' he asks her sincerely.

'I don't want to be without you. I need to feel safe and that's with you.'

_She feels safe with me, _he asks himself. The second he had landed in the sand at Shell Cottage after disapparating from Malfoy Manor, keeping her safe had become a priority to him. After everything that has happened to her, of course she needs to feel safe! Ron felt his whole body warm with the realization that she feels safe with him.

He knows what he wants to ask her. Will asking her this change how she feels? Will she just get mad at him for suggesting something so intimate so soon? He stops his head, no more over-thinking, just ask her.

'D-do you want to uhh...come with me?' he asks with slight hesitancy as he scratches the back of his head.

'Y-you want me to come with you? Are you asking me to shower with you Ron?' she asks. His hands start to sweat at her question.

'Yes Hermione, I want you to feel safe.' he says while trying to remain eye contact. He then wraps his arm around her and gives her a squeeze.

'Besides I don't know any bloke that would say no to a naked bird in the shower with him' He says with his lopsided grin. His comment seemed to surprise her as she made an adorable little grin. _Bloody hell she's beautiful _he thought to himself.

'I'd love to, Ron. I need a shower too, I feel gross' she says.

He pulls her off his lap and stands up. Stretches his limbs slightly, he held out his hand out for her to take. They walk up the stairs leading to the boys' dormitory bathrooms. Ron starts running his other hand through his hair as his nerves kicked in. He looks back at her and all the nerves melt away suddenly. She's' it for him. He knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, marry her, start a family with her, hell, he could picture the little poofy haired, ginger geniuses already. He doesn't need to feel nervous. This is his best friend, and it feels like they are about to break the line to lovers now.

They enter the bathroom and Ron seals and silences it with Wormtail's wand. God, using this wand feels grotty and quite disgusting, like he feels the cowardice radiating off of the wood of the wand. _I need to get a new one once Ollivander is feelin' better, and so does Hermione, bloody hell I can't imagine what it's like for her to use Bellatrix's wand,_ he thought. Hermione rattled her beaded bag, bringing him back to the present as she reaches into it and pulls out 2 towels and some shampoo. Ron goes to turn on the shower to get it warmed up.  
All of a sudden they are left standing in front of each other. Neither are moving.

'No more over-thinking, remember?' she says. Ron nods and starts removing his clothing. She then follows.

Ron hesitates once he reaches his pants. He looks at Hermione and realizes she's doing the same, in only her bra and knickers. It's mad how these three pieces of cotton will likely break that line between best friends and lovers. He makes eye contact with her and knows that she is thinking the same thing. He digs deep inside himself for his Gryffindor courage.

'Sod it' he says before they both break that line.

Now they are both completely starkers. Her body is terribly thin with burn marks and cuts all over. The only thought in his mind is how absolutely beautiful every inch of her is. Besides, he can't imagine his body looks any better after being on the run for a year. 'Merlin you are so fuckin' beautiful,' he says. He notices her make a shy grin at his comment and looks away from him, pointedly not looking down beyond his chest. He starts thinking about what it would be like to touch her body. But then he brings himself back. _This isn't the time or place for that, _he reminds himself yet again.

Feeling a sudden surge of confidence, he reaches out for her and pulls her with him under the cascading warm water. He closes his eyes and hisses once the water hits the many burn marks on his body. All of a sudden he feels her wrap her small arms around his torso, pulling him as close as she can and laying her head on his chest. The feeling of her bare chest and torso pressed against his, completely soothes all his pain. It was a feeling like no other. He wraps his arms around her shoulders and kisses the top of her head.

'You're safe, love, I'm here.' He thinks about all the times he came close to losing her in this last year. She is safe now, in his arms. He looks down at her.

'Can I uh...wash your hair?' he asks her. Her wild hair is a mess. As much as he loves her hair this way, he knows she hates it.

'Yes, please. That would feel amazing' she says. She moves her hair under the water and gets it wet. He notices her wince when the water hits a small cut on her forehead. Ron starts to reach past her for the bottle of shampoo but then he looks at her. She is so beautiful it makes him ache. He reaches for her face, holding her cheeks in both hands and kisses her gently. He pulls back and rests his forehead against hers.

'Love that I can do that now 'Mione. Kiss you.' He says while looking into her eyes.

'Me too, Ron.' She lays a gentle kiss upon the splinching scar on his left shoulder.

Ron looks at the wildness of her hair and starts by shampooing it.

'Umm, Hermione? Little lost here; do you have a comb or something I could use to tame this?' he asks with a slight laugh. She rolls her eyes with a smirk on her face.

'Don't worry about that now, this is fine. I can give it a thorough cleaning tomorrow.' She replies. He could tell she felt embarrassed about her hair.

'Like hell, 'Mione. I love you, remember? These curls happen to protect the strongest fucking part of you. I speak for me and Harry when I say that brain of yours has saved our asses more than… Merlin, I dunno how many times you've saved us. We'd be fucked without you. Could ya teach me how to clean your hair how you like it? I want to keep that beautiful noggin of yours clean and safe,' He gives her his cheeky lopsided grin.

'Yes, Okay, fine, and only because that was so corny and sweet. In my bag there's a comb and some conditioner,' Hermione tells him. Ron grabs one of their wands.

'_Accio_ comb.' It comes flying out of her bag into Ron's hand '_Accio_ conditioner' the conditioner then follows.

'The conditioner takes longer because you have to deeply massage it into my hair.' She squeezes the conditioner into his hands. He then stands behind her as she places her hands on top of his and guides him on how to massage it into her hair. He grabs the comb and starts to tenderly brush and comb her hair. Once finished, he leans her head back into the water and he combs it as the conditioner rinses out.

'There we go, little less chaotic now. Better than I've seen it in years. In fact, I should always wash your hair,' he says with his lopsided grin.

'Excuse me?'! You are just making an excuse to get me naked in the shower with you!' she says as she crosses her arms. His eyes follow her arms to her chest and sees the curse scar that crosses it. While she can hide her breasts, he lets his imagination run wild for a few moments, causing blood to flow further south. She notices this, causing her face to turn bright red as she looks down at her feet. _Merlin, she's so fucking sexy,_ he thinks. _We have time for that later. _He reminds himself again.

But for now he just wants them to feel clean and safe. And yet while she's been tidied up, he's still a bit rubbish.

He kisses the top of her head, muttering into her wet curls, 'We have all the time we need, love.'

She grabs the shampoo and he lowers his head so she can reach his hair. It feels bloody brilliant having her run her fingers through his hair. Once she's done, he moves his head under the water, reveling in the feeling of not being covered in dirt. He then grabs for a flannel and starts washing their bodies. He reaches the mark on her neck where Bellatrix had cut her. _I fucking hate that nutter. I'm glad Mum did her in, _he thought. Being in that dungeon and listening to Hermione being tortured was the worst moment he ever had.

He washes the mark before gently pressing his lips against it. He stands straight then tilts her head up toward him.

'I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again...' -he kisses her cheek- '...promise...' -he kisses her other cheek- '...keep you safe...' he then kisses her on the mouth with passion and pulls her to his chest, holding her as tight as he could. His whole body aches but he couldn't care less, not as long as she's here in his arms.

'I know you will Ron. I'll keep you safe too,' she starts to choke up. 'I love you so much. Feels so right, finally being here in your arms.' She gives him a once over, making sure she didn't miss a spot of soot on his pale, thin body, including one area that makes her blush hard. She looks back up at his face and gives him the smile he fell in love with years ago. 'There, you're clean and we're safe now.'

He feels the depth of grief start to take over his throat.

'I love you too, Hermione,' he says, 'So fucking much.' They are now both sobbing into each other's arms as the water sprays down upon them.

This is exactly what they need.

He could stand here forever holding her, keeping her safe.


End file.
